


A Cappuccino. Dropped, Not Thrown.

by baridalive



Series: 12 Days of Donghyuck [5]
Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Best Friends, Childhood Friends, Christmas, Coffee Shops, Coincidences, Cute, Finding Love, Love, M/M, soft
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-24
Updated: 2018-12-24
Packaged: 2019-09-26 09:28:20
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,822
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17139266
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/baridalive/pseuds/baridalive
Summary: Where a "what if" becomes a "what happened" and inner turmoil doesn't even begin to describe it___Days 9 and 10 of Donghyuck's quest to find love before Christmas





	1. Day 9

**Author's Note:**

> As much as this CAN stand alone as a story, there are elements that will make more sense if you read the rest of the series first!!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i'm dumb bc i meant to post this last night but i started writing the next chapter of nohyuck before i posted it, and then i fell asleep so here we are  
> and HA surprise this is completely no proofread. again.  
> enjoy!!!!

**Monday, December 22nd**

_Day of Departure_

_2 Days Until the Christmas Eve Party_

**3 Days Until Christmas**

* * *

 

 **The blaring of an alarm** woke Donghyuck up bright and early that Monday morning, bringing on a headache and regrets from the previous morning. He’d gotten home from outside of the dance studio just as the sun was rising, and proceeded to sleep for the rest of the day, only waking up when Jaemin forced him to eat.

 

But today, he didn’t have the luxury. He had a flight to catch out of Seoul International in a little over three hours and hadn’t packed a single thing. The last week, especially the most recent few days, had managed to suck all motivation to get ready for the flight right out of him.

 

Donghyuck groaned, rubbing his eyes as he turned over in his bed. He knew he had to get out of bed, but after everything that had happened within the past nine eight days, he dreaded going home with every bone in his body.

 

Jaemin had sat him down during one of the spurts he had been awake the previous and asked Donghyuck is he still wanted Jaemin to go home with him because his sister had just bought him a plane ticket to go visit her in the UK with their parents just in time for Christmas, and he needed to know whether to accept it or not.

 

Donghyuck had nearly hit Jaemin for even _thinking_ that he should go with him home for the holidays instead of going to visit his family, but he settled for waving his soup spoon threateningly in Jaemin’s direction and giving him a piece of his mind on the matter.

 

He groaned again, finally sitting up to see if his hangover was still lingering.

 

It was.

 

Donghyuck grimaced, blinking his eyes open slowly to be met with the sight of his room in complete disarray, the early morning sunlight that was filtering gently through his curtains splashed over piles of clothes scattered across the room. He vaguely remembered trying to start organizing things to put in his suitcase the night before, but he must have fallen asleep before he could actually get any of it done.

 

Donghyuck stretched his legs as he slipped out of bed, padding quietly into the kitchen and expecting to be met with Jaemin reading on the couch in the living room, but instead was met with an empty apartment and a plate of pancakes on the counter with a blue post-it note stuck to the top.

 

_Good morning, Hyuck!_

_My flight is leaving at eight this morning, so I’m sure I’ll be long gone by the time you even get out of bed. Have a safe flight and text me right when you land._

_I started to sort your clothes into piles for you last night after I made you go to bed so you would have a little headstart this morning._

_Enjoy the pancakes, and I’ll see you in January!_

_-Jaems_

 

Jaemin’s handwriting never failed to look eerily like comic sans, but Donghyuck just smiled before scarfing down the pancakes and rushing back to his room to pack up the clothes he would need for his trip back home.

 

Faster than he anticipated, he had packed up all of the clothes he was going to need for the holidays, showered, _actually dried his hair this time_ , gotten dressed, and cleaned up the rest of the apartment. It was crazy what Donghyuck could do when he actually needed to get somewhere on time.

 

He left the apartment not too long after Jaemin had texted him about boarding his plane, but his headache from the party was still sitting in the back of his skull, throbbing whenever Donghyuck forgot about it for more than a second.

 

That was one of the dire situations where Donghyuck would cave and get a coffee, mostly for the sake of the buzz of the caffeine being able to drown out his headache. Donghyuck shouldered his backpack and grabbed his suitcase, taking one last glance around the apartment before stepping out and locking the door behind him.

 

Donghyuck tugged his luggage along with him as he darted down the street to the little cafe where he had run into Yukhei to order himself a cappuccino—the only kind of coffee-based drink he tolerated—before Chenle arrived, since he was the only person Donghyuck knew on campus who had a car and would be willing to drive him to the airport.

 

The cafe was thankfully both open and quiet, so he got his drink almost straight away. With a simple nod of thanks to the barista, after he had grabbed his cappuccino, he opened the door out onto the sidewalk and ran smack into someone, spilling his coffee all over them.

 

“Oh, _shit_ ,” Donghyuck cursed, flailing for a moment as he regained his balance. “I’m so so sorry, I wasn’t looking where I was—”

 

“Donghyuck?” It was the familiar voice that drew him out of his stressed stupor, but is was the hand on his shoulder that brought Donghyuck’s eyes up to meet with a very familiar pair of eye smiles that he had known since his childhood.

 

“ _Jeno_?” Donghyuck gasped, making Jeno laugh. “What are you doing here?”

 

“Well, I was going to grab some coffee, but it looks like I’ll be needing a new shirt instead.” Jeno flicked Donghyuck’s shoulder.

 

“No, like what are you doing in town? Your university is almost two hours away!” Donghyuck was still struggling to grasp the fact that one of his very best friends, one that he had known since birth and hadn’t seen in almost a year, was standing right in front of him.

 

“I’m headed to the airport. I have a nine am flight to catch back home.” Jeno explained peeling the front of his shirt off of his chest with two pinched fingers, wrinkling his nose. “I need to grab a hoodie. Walk me to my car?”

 

Donghyuck humbly nodded before his words set in. “You’re headed back to Jeju too? On the nine o’clock flight? Korean Air flight number…” Donghyuck trailed off as he patted his pockets for his ticket, but Jeno beat him to it.

 

“1121? Yeah that’s me.” Jeno shrugged, confused as to what Donghyuck’s point was, frowning as he unlocked the same beat up silver Honda Civic that his parents had bought him freshman year.

 

“You’re on the same flight as me!” Donghyuck gasped, clutching Jeno’s shoulders and spinning him back around so they could face each other. “We’re going home together!”

 

“Really?” Jeno’s eyes lit up, and he hugged Donghyuck, nearly picking him up off the ground in his enthusiasm. “That’s amazing!”

 

“Talk about coincidences, right?” Donghyuck murmured as he stepped back. Thankfully none of the spilled cappuccino had seeped into his own sweatshirt from the hug. He carefully averted his eyes as Jeno pulled off his stained t-shirt to replace is with a faded grey hoodie that he had grabbed from the backseat of his car.

 

“I know!” Jeno sighed. “Hey, speaking of, do you have a ride to the airport? I can just give you one.”

 

Donghyuck nodded. “My friend Chenle was going to drive me, but I’ll tell him to go back to bed.” He pulled out his phone to shoot a quick text to Chenle, only to receive a series of emoji hearts and a quick _have a safe flight, hyung!_ in response not seconds later.

 

“I’m going to go grab a coffee, but I’ll meet you right back out here.” Jeno instructed, running inside the cafe. Donghyuck sighed, leaning against the car as he stared at his phone screen, lost in thought. He hoped his mother wasn’t going to be disappointed in him for not bringing home a date, but only time would tell.

 

Jeno came rushing back out of the cafe less than five minutes later with two cups in his hands. “Two cappuccinos. Why were you drinking coffee anyway? I know you hate the stuff.” Jeno apparently hadn’t changed from his normal talkative self in the year that they’d gone without seeing each other. Jeno loaded Donghyuck’s luggage into the trunk alongside his own before sliding into the driver’s seat.

 

“Last few days have been rough, let’s just go with that.” Donghyuck slipped into the passenger seat as Jeno started up the car. The other hummed, knowing Donghyuck well enough not to pry when he was being vague.

 

“Well, is your family still having their annual Christmas Eve party?” Jeno attempted to change the subject, but it couldn’t have been any less effective.

 

Donghyuck slid down in his seat. “Yes.” He mumbled into his cup, grimacing at the bitter taste of the coffee as he took a sip.

 

Jeno frowned again. “Okay, what’s going on?”

 

Donghyuck didn’t want to go in depth with everything that had transpired; at least not yet, so he stuck with just telling him about the phone call his mother gave him, and the ‘present’ she asked for. Jeno just nodded along, humming at the appropriate moments.

 

“Wait!” Donghyuck gasped, sitting upright so fast he nearly dropped his cup. “We could go together!” Seeing the apprehension on Jeno’s face, he amended his statement. “Not as dates, but as friends. I think that would appease mom.”

 

There was a word that caused Jeno’s smile to dim a little bit, but Donghyuck didn’t have the time to pick out what it was before Jeno replied: “Sure, I’m down!”

 

There wasn’t much else of importance that they discussed on the way to the airport, mostly just catching up about how school is going, what activities they still did, what new music they’d found. That simple chatter occupies them all the way to the plane, where the discover that they have seats right next to each other.

 

“The coincidences just won’t stop today, will they?” Donghyuck laughed, plopping himself down in the window seat as Jeno slid into the seat next to him. There was silence from the other, bringing Donghyuck’s attention from the early morning sun outside the plane window to the face of the other.

 

Jeno was staring at the neckline of Donghyuck’s t-shirt, which had been dragged down in the slightest to reveal a smattering of light purple bruises—half-healed hickeys from Yukhei.

 

“Are those what I think they are, Donghyuck?”

 

“Jeno, _please_ don’t tell my mom.”

 

Disappointment seemed to radiate off of Jeno. “I won’t tell your mom if you tell me where you got them.”

 

Donghyuck released a breath he didn’t even know he had been holding, carefully outlining the story of Yukhei without including any of his other escapades, but the look on Jeno’s face was enough to tell him that he didn’t believe him.

 

“That’s not the whole story, is it?”

 

Donghyuck groaned as the plane lurched forward. Jeno grabbed his hand on the armrest and rubbed gentle circles into the back of it, fully aware that Donghyuck had hated flying ever since he was a kid.

 

Once they were safely up in the air and the plane was steady, Donghyuck glanced around to see that no one else was paying any attention to them, so bit by bit, he slowly let the whole story of the past week fall from his lips, from Jaemin to Renjun, to Jisung to Yukhei, he didn’t leave out any details, but if he glossed over some of the kissing, Jeno never had to know.

 

By the end of the story, Jeno was in shock more than anything else. “You have no sense of self-preservation, do you?”

 

Donghyuck shrunk back into his seat. “I just wanted to make mom happy.”

 

“I know, I know,” Jeno rushed to reassure him. “I just wish you could have gone about it in a different way.”

 

Donghyuck flashed him a tired smile, resting his head on Jeno’s shoulder. “It’s okay, though. You’re here now.” Donghyuck felt the blush rise on Jeno’s neck more than he saw it, but the warmth of his skin allowed him to gently nod off for the rest of the flight.

 

The rest of the trip was a blur, Donghyuck recalled dragging himself through the airport and into a taxi which Jeno had hailed—as well as insisted upon paying for—back to their neighborhood.

 

“You didn’t have to pay, you know.”

 

“Shut up. You’re so tired you probably can’t even spell credit card.” Jeno laughed, handing the driver some money. Donghyuck thought about arguing for a moment, before realizing that Jeno was right and resigned himself to just sticking his tongue out at him.

 

“I’ll treat you to dinner sometime soon, then. Before we go back off to university.” Donghyuck bargains, making Jeno just laugh and nod his head as they made their way up to the doorstep of Donghyuck’s house.

 

Mrs. Lee, as in Donghyuck’s mom and not either Jeno’s or Taeyong and Mark’s, flung the door open wide, pulling her son in for the first hug they’d had in… well, just _way too long_. Immediately after, she scooped Jeno into a hug, because no one can escape Mrs. Lee’s affection.

 

Donghyuck nearly forgot that the clinginess ran in the family until all four of his younger siblings ran up to them, stealing both Donghyuck and Jeno for at least one hug each, before piling everyone into one big hug on the front stoop.

 

Mrs. Lee eventually ushered everyone inside and into the living room so they could talk without freezing their toes off. “Your dad is coming home from the shop in less than an hour. He can’t wait to see you.”

 

Donghyuck smiled, setting his backpack down. “I can’t wait to see him too.” Jeno subtly adjusted the collar of Donghyuck’s shirt when he placed an arm around him so the bruises didn’t accidentally slip into view.

 

“So, is Jeno the one going to the party with you?” His mom looked so _proud_ that Donghyuck couldn’t find it within himself to say that they were just friends.

 

“Yeah, we’re going together.” Donghyuck told her, and prayed that Jeno didn’t hear his mother’s mumbling _it’s about damn time_. He either didn’t hear them or didn’t show it because Jeno just squeezed Donghyuck’s shoulders before letting go.

 

“Oh, Duckie!” His mother called before Donghyuck could disappear up the staircase. “I have another guest arriving late tomorrow night. They’ll be staying with us for the rest of the holidays, so make sure the guest room is clean.”

 

“Who is it?”

 

Mrs. Lee just waved her son off. “Just an old family friend.” That tipped off a little warning bell in Donghyuck’s head and he prayed that it wasn’t one of his mother’s crazy friends from college.

 

Jeno put a hand on the small of Donghyuck’s back to nudge him up the rest of the stairs to get to his room so he could put away his things. Donghyuck’s room hadn’t changed much since the last time he was home, although he was sure at least a couple of his things were missing, courtesy of the thieving small hands of his younger siblings.

 

“Your room hasn’t changed at all,” Jeno mused, running his fingers along the pale yellow painted walls as Donghyuck tossed his suitcase on his bed and flopped down next to it. “Just more trophies now,”

 

Donghyuck snorted, cracking open an eye to see the tall shelf full of trophies and medals from all of the dance competitions he had ever competed it. Even the trophies he won in his college competitions he always mailed back home to his parents so they could add it to his collection.

 

“There aren’t many spaces left.” Donghyuck stretched his arms above his head. “I might have to commission your engineering-major ass to build a new shelf for me.”

 

Jeno walked over, poking at the little sliver of skin of his stomach that had appeared when Donghyuck had stretched. “My commission fee is high. I expect you to buy my lunch every day I work on it, and you have to come visit me on my birthday.” Jeno bargained.

 

Donghyuck sat up and shoved his shoulder. “Square deal, but it has to be done by the end of break.”

 

Jeno turned back to the wall, squinting at it and tilting his head, mentally mapping out what he had to do. “That can be arranged.”

 

Donghyuck grinned, laying back down and closing his eyes. “Don’t you have to go back to your house and put your stuff away?”

 

He felt the bed dip next to him and knew that Jeno had sat down. “It’s literally right next door. I can do it any time.” Jeno said. “In fact, I’m pretty sure that I could toss it from your bedroom window straight into mine if they were both open.”

 

Jeno moved to get up but Donghyuck reached up and tugged him right back down with so much force that Jeno ended up sprawled over Donghyuck. “Don’t even _think_ about opening my window. My mom would kill me before she would scold you for letting the cold in, and you know it.” Donghyuck whispered through gritted teeth.

 

Jeno just laughed, pulling himself off of Donghyuck. “I’m going to go bring my stuff home, but I expect lunch ready when I get back, because I’m going to get to work on your shelves.”

 

Donghyuck waved him off, but sat up and blinked his eyes open. “Yeah, yeah. I’ll go be your housewife. What kind of sandwich do you want?”

 

He tilted his head. “Peanut butter and jelly. You choose what flavor.” Donghyuck grinned evilly and Jeno paused before he walked out the door. “And don’t you even _think_ about using blueberry. I love your mom’s preserves but I will not choke down another bite of that cement.”

 

Donghyuck laughed as he got up and ushered Jeno downstairs and out the door so he could go put his things away in his own house and go greet his own parents while Donghyuck made him a peanut butter and raspberry jelly sandwich, but he had to admit, using the blueberry was very tempting.

 

They didn’t do much for the rest of the day other than start to sketch out the beginnings of a design for his shelves since they were both exhausted from the flight and all of their exams that previous week.

 

“Jeno, dear,” Mrs. Lee called up the stairs as it was nearing ten o’clock that evening. “You can stay over if you want tonight.”

 

Jeno rolled over on the floor to meet Donghyuck’s eyes. They had been mapping out fake constellations from the glow-in-the-dark stars stuck on Donghyuck’s ceiling and giving them ridiculous names before his mother had interrupted them. “You good with me staying?”

 

“I haven’t cleaned up the guest room yet, and I don’t want to have to launder the sheets again before mom’s mystery guest shows up tomorrow, so you’re staying in here.”

 

Jeno laughed, turning his attention back to the glowing plastic above them. “I’ll take that as a yes then.” They continued playing that little game that had been a sleepover tradition since they were kids, one that they used to play with their other neighbor who was around their age before he moved away.

 

Donghyuck remembered how close they all had been before the other boy had left, and found himself closing his eyes momentarily, thinking of how much he missed the three of them together.

 

It wasn’t until Jeno was shaking him awake that he realized he had fallen asleep there on his floor, pages of designs and sketches atop him. “Hey, you might want to sleep in your bed, weirdo.” Jeno whispered, leaning down over him with a grin.

 

Donghyuck groaned and reached up to whack him, but Jeno jumped away before he could. “Shut up. You’re the weirdo, weirdo.” He would normally like to think that he had better insults up his sleeve than that, but Jeno was one of Donghyuck’s best friends, if not his sole one, and he knew that Jeno wouldn’t mind.

 

They slept in the same bed that night, Jeno wrapped around Donghyuck’s smaller frame, just like how they would sleep when they were younger. Donghyuck’s mind was reeling still, about what this meant, but fell asleep eventually, confused but comfortable snuggled up in his best friend’s arms.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hA i thought i was going to keep this short. i didn't. goddamnit.  
> oH WELL next chapter is somewhat of an emotional rollercoaster so get ready!


	2. Day 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> uh, hi, so this entire story was supposed to be short and sweet at like 5.1k-5.3k,,, but as we can see that did not happen  
> i hope you have a box of tissues with you bc i cried while writing this  
> <3  
> and i meant to proofread this but i can't read it without getting emotional so.........

**Tuesday, December 23rd**

_ 1 Day Until the Christmas Eve Party _

**2 Days Until Christmas**

* * *

 

**Donghyuck awoke with Jeno still** spooning him, Donghyuck’s back nestled snugly up against his front. Jeno’s lips were just brushing the side of Donghyuck’s neck breathing soft puffs of warm air in time with the rise and fall of his chest against Donghyuck’s back.

 

As much as Donghyuck wished to just stay there all day, the sunlight streaming into his room told him that it was already well into the morning, and they still had things to do today to prep for the Christmas Eve party the next day. 

 

“Hey weirdo,” Donghyuck twisted in Jeno’s grip so they were facing each other. Jeno was still asleep, so Donghyuck poked his cheek until he stirred. “Wake up, sleepyhead.”

 

“What time is it?” Jeno grumbled, his morning voice low and rough. 

 

“I dunno, I haven’t been able to move to check the time.” Donghyuck did his best to gesture to their position. “I’m a little stuck.”

 

It took Jeno a moment to realize what was happening, but as soon as Donghyuck could see it register in his eyes, Jeno released Donghyuck with a flurry of apologies running off of his lips. 

 

“It’s fine, it’s fine!” Donghyuck laughed as he sat up and stretched his arms above his head. His shirt rode up a bit, exposing a bit of his stomach again, and Jeno poked it, making Donghyuck curl in on himself and pull a face. “Maybe it’s not so fine.”

 

Jeno chuckled as he stood, darting out of the reach of Donghyuck before he could receive a whack to the arm like usual. “Hey, I’m going to drop by my house real quick so I can shower and change, but I’ll come back in a little bit and meet you here for breakfast, then party prep?”

 

Donghyuck nodded. “Sounds good. Eggs as usual?”

 

Jeno grinned on his way out of the door. “You know it.”

 

Donghyuck was left alone in his room and he flopped backwards into his bed, conflicted. He didn’t know what Jeno was trying to do, but it was messing with his heart just as much as it was messing with his head, and after everything that had happened last week, Donghyuck didn’t want any repeats.

 

He groaned and pulled himself off of his bed to get showered and dressed for the day, determined to beat Jeno down to his kitchen, because if Jeno tried to make breakfast again, it would spell disaster for the whole household.

 

And by disaster, that meant a completely ruined carton of eggs, a very charred frying pan, loads of dishes, and a smokey smell that would linger in the house for weeks. Mrs. Lee made Jeno swear not to cook eggs in her house ever again after that.

 

It was funny, because Jeno was fully capable of cooking and baking anything else, but when it came to just plain eggs, he was completely clueless. No matter how many times Donghyuck tried to show him as a kid, a teenager, and now an adult, Jeno still just couldn’t figure it out.

 

Donghyuck held it over his head quite a bit, but usually was the one who ended up making the eggs for Jeno anyway, so both of them won in those situations.

 

With a clean t-shirt and a pair of joggers on, Donghyuck hopped down the stairs to the kitchen with a towel on his shoulders so his hair wouldn’t drip everywhere. He was afraid that if he dried it now, Jeno would show up.

 

Donghyuck grinned when he was that Jeno was still nowhere to be seen, so he pulled out the carton of eggs and cracked four of them into a bowl, along with some milk, pepper, and a load of cheese. There always seemed to be more cheese than egg, but both Donghyuck and Jeno had decided that it was the perfect ratio, no matter how much both of their mothers complained about never having cheese in the house after they had a sleepover.

 

“Your phone is buzzing, Duckie!” His mother called from the next room, making Donghyuck nearly drop the whisk he had been using to mix the eggs and milk as he dashed to the living room where he had left his phone the previous night.

 

“Hello?” Donghyuck hadn’t had any time to look at who was calling before he picked up, but the voice on the other end of the line gave it away immediately.

 

“ _ Hyuckie! How are you doing today? _ ” Jaemin’s voice echoed through Donghyuck’s phone, making him smile.

 

“I’m good, Jaems. How’s England?”

 

“ _ Uh, it’s all… English. I studied English for two years back in high school! They can’t expect me to still know any of it! _ ” Jaemin whined, making Donghyuck laugh as he made his way back into the kitchen to start cooking the eggs.

 

“The whole point of taking a language is so that you can remember it, genius.” Donghyuck put a frying pan over the heat and placed a small chunk of butter in it as grease so the eggs wouldn’t stick to the sides of the pan. 

 

“ _ Ugh, details. _ ” Jaemin spoke. “ _ But my family says hi, and that next time they come visit they want to see you dance. _ ”

 

Donghyuck faked a gasp. “They do? Wow, it’s not like they ask that literally every time they come over or anything.”

 

Donghyuck could almost hear Jaemin roll his eyes as he tucked his phone between his ear and his shoulder so he could pour the eggs into the pan. “ _ Shut up, they love you more than they love me. _ ”

 

“No, they don’t.” Donghyuck sighed. “You know that.”

 

Jaemin made a noncommittal noise before there was a crash at his end of the line. “ _ Hey, I’ve gotta go, I think one of my sister’s cats just knocked over the Christmas tree… _ ”

 

“I’ll text you soon. Merry Christmas, Jaems.”

 

“ _ You too, Hyuckie! No, Jongin, don’t! Oh my— _ ” The line went dead again as Jaemin must have hung up the phone when the cat began causing more mayhem. Donghyuck set down his phone on the counter just as someone cleared their throat.

 

“Who was that?” Donghyuck whipped around to see Jeno sitting at the counter, his chin resting in his hands.

 

“Oh, that was my roommate, Jaemin. He was just calling to wish me a happy holiday break and to let me know that he got to London okay.”

 

Jeno let out a strangled noise from the back of his throat, and Donghyuck threw him a questioning look before turning back to the eggs. “Your roommate? The same one that…” He trailed off, but Donghyuck knew how to fill in the blank.

 

“Yes the same one that I kissed. And you have a problem with that?” Donghyuck didn’t need to turn around to know that Jeno had gone beet-red and was most likely shaking his head profusely.

 

“No, no!” His voice broke in his hurry to defend himself. “Of course not, Hyuck.”

 

Donghyuck didn’t believe that was all there was to it for a second, but breakfast was much more important, so all he did was instruct Jeno to grab out two plates and a pair of forks so they could eat the eggs that were still hot off the stove. 

 

They finished breakfast in relative silence, the only speaking done was between mouthfuls of food, debating who was going to do the dishes after this since they both knew Donghyuck’s mother wouldn’t tolerate dirty dishes in her kitchen for more than twenty minutes.

 

Neither of them really ended up winning, since halfway through the argument, Mrs. Lee walked into the kitchen and told them that they could both participate in doing the dishes after they’d made the cookies and pies for the party the next day.

 

Both Jeno and Donghyuck perked up at the thought of Mrs. Lee’s—Donghyuck’s mother’s—famous pecan pie, and the other Mrs. Lee’s—Jeno’s mother’s—famous chocolate chip cookies. 

 

The mood in the room went from festive to extra-festive as Jeno and Donghyuck got to baking all of the cookies and pies that their stash of ingredients allowed for, and they spent the remainder of the morning and the majority of the afternoon in the kitchen.

 

They baked just about as much as they screwed around though, with more flour and frosting ending up on each other’s noses and cheeks than actually in any batter or on top of any cookies. There was a fair amount of dancing to horrible Christmas music as well, and Jeno had to stuff Donghyuck’s mouth with gummy bears more than once just to stop him from belting  _ Feliz Navidad _ again.

 

Jeno’s mother’s chocolate chip cookies were the last items they got around to baking that day, and by then, they were a bit delirious. Donghyuck was trying to dance to  _ God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen _ with minor success, given that he was wearing socks on hardwood floor, and Jeno was trying his hand at singing, which was going just as horribly.

 

Nothing too horrendously went wrong until DOnghyuck miscalculated a slide that he made across the floor while holding the open bottle of vanilla extract, and ended up crashing straight into Jeno. 

 

Donghyuck was sitting on top of his chest, dissolved in giggles as Jeno was just trying to get the boy off of his chest so he could breathe properly, but Donghyuck forgot that he was holding the vanilla, and spilled the dark liquid all over Jeno’s white t-shirt.

 

“Hyuck are you  _ kidding me _ ?” Jeno laughed, admitting defeat as he dropped his head back onto the floor with a painful-sounding  _ thunk _ . “Would you stop throwing things onto my shirts? I’m literally going to run out of them!”

 

“Shut up, I dropped both of them. There was absolutely no throwing involved.” Donghyuck’s laughter subsided enough that he could stand, and offered a hand to Jeno to help him get up.

 

“Agree to disagree,” Jeno made a face as he pulled at the wet spot on his shirt. “I’m going to go home and change, alright? Don’t spill anything else while I’m gone!” He called over his shoulder on his way out the door. 

 

The moment Jeno closed the front door, it his Donghyuck that what he had been doing all afternoon could have easily been classified as flirting, and it terrified Donghyuck enough that he pulled out his phone to text Jaemin.

 

 

**To: Jaemin  
** __ i’m having a crisis  
_ jaems  
_ __ pls reply

**From: Jaemin  
** _ what do u want demon _

**To: Jaemin  
** _ there’s this guy _

**From: Jaemin  
** _ are u kidding me? _

**To: Jaemin  
** __ he was my childhood best friend  
_ and i think he still is just a friend  
_ __ but god nothing makes sense anymore

**From: Jaemin  
** __ but ur sure that u don’t like the dude romantically  
_ like   
_ __ when u look at him, u think bff not bf right?

**To: Jaemin  
** _ yeah _

**From: Jaemin  
** __ then there u go  
_ just a bff  
_ __ just make sure he knows that

  
  


Donghyuck sighed. He knew Jaemin was right, but everything emotionally involved just scared him. He had had enough failed romantic relationships within the past week to make anyone a bit wary. He bit his fingertip and was about to type out a reply when Jeno barged back in the door and Donghyuck slipped the phone back in his pocket.

 

They bake the rest of the cookies without managing to spill any other ingredients or ruin any more shirts, so overall the day was a success. Four pies, and three batches each of five different types of cookies.

 

As tradition, Jeno’s parents came over after dinner for game night between the families. Donghyuck’s younger siblings always cheated, but no one took anything that seriously so anyone over the age of eleven turned a blind eye to the grabby hands getting into the Monopoly money.

 

Soon enough, it was nine o’clock and all of the young ones were sent to bed with the promise that they could each have a cookie for breakfast if they all went to sleep right away. Of course, they were all in their beds within ten minutes.

 

That left four adults and two college students and six wine glasses left in the living room. Jeno’s arm was casually slung over the back of the sofa behind Donghyuck as they sipped their wine carefully; neither of them were used to good alcohol after three years of college.

 

“Johnny is going to be arriving tomorrow morning with his fiancé, so don’t sleep in too late.” Donghyuck’s mother told them.

 

Donghyuck was ecstatic. “I honestly can’t wait to meet the man that has made my brother so happy.”

 

His mother clears her throat, throwing a glance at Jeno. “What about the man that makes you happy? Jeno?”

 

Donghyuck nearly spat out his wine and Jeno choked on his. 

 

“Uh,” Jeno recovered first. “We’re not entirely sure as to where we stand?” He said it as more of a question than a statement, but it seemed to placate the adults since they changed the subject not long after.

 

Everyone else moved on from what Jeno said, but Donghyuck found himself dwelling on his words for a little bit longer than he should have. Donghyuck was afraid to touch his wine for the rest of the night in case of a repeat situation.

 

Jeno’s parents headed home eventually, all of the adults giving permission for Jeno to stay over again. No one even thought about asking Donghyuck if  _ he _ wanted Jeno to stay over, but he supposed after Jeno’s comment from earlier, it would make sense why they assumed he would want that. 

 

“Hey,” Jeno pulled Donghyuck aside as the adults bade each other goodnight. “Are you okay with me staying over? I don’t have to.”

 

Donghyuck smiled, pulling Jeno in for a hug. “I’m okay with it. I need  _ some  _ sort of buffer between me and my parents’ harassment about my love life.”

 

Jeno snorted so hard it brought odd looks from the parents. He pulled away from Donghyuck, giving everyone a sheepish smile, mumbling apologies. Donghyuck just laughed, ushering him up the stairs so they could get ready for bed. 

 

They fall asleep in the same position as the previous night, Jeno curling his body around the back of Donghyuck’s, molding his body perfectly to fit the other’s. Jeno dozed off nearly night away, but Donghyuck layed there awake for a while.

 

He had no idea how long it had been before he knew he wasn’t going to sleep, but he carefully extracted himself from Jeno’s grip and padded out of the room, down the stairs, and to the kitchen where he prepared himself a cup of tea as quietly as he could.

 

He just sat there on the counter for a while, flipping through one of his father’s old notebooks with drawings and sketches galore of all different types of cars and car parts, sipping on his mother’s tea. It was his therapy whenever he came home, and it made him feel closer to his parents even when he wasn’t talking to them.

 

The whole house had been silent, so when the the stairs creaked in their specific way to let Donghyuck know that someone was walking down them, he was fully prepared to have to explain to his mother why he’s sitting on the kitchen counter drinking out of her hidden stash of her favorite tea a little before midnight, but instead he was met with a different sight.

 

Jeno stumbled down the stairs groggily. “Hyuck?” He was only half awake, still dressed in the clothes he borrowed from Johnny’s old things because Donghyuck’s clothes were too small for him. His voice was rough and low, and he squinted against the bright lights of the kitchen.

 

“What are you doing up?” Donghyuck asked, closing the notebook and hopping down from the counter. “Let’s get you back to bed.”

 

Jeno shook his head and yawned. “Your mom told me to get up so I could meet her guest when they arrived. The one condition of me staying over.”

 

Donghyuck rolled his eyes even though his mother couldn’t see him. “She could have just asked me. She knows I’m going to be up anyway.”

 

“Maybe that’s why she asked me to get up too,” Jeno pointed out as Donghyuck leaned back against the counter.

 

“Why would she do that?” Donghyuck wondered aloud, staring off into space.

 

“Hyuck,” Jeno was so close all of a sudden. 

 

“Jeno…” Donghyuck’s voice trailed off as Jeno cupped his cheek.

 

“Can I kiss you?” Those four words were the most terrifying things that Donghyuck had ever heard. Those were the four words that could break this decades-long friendship, but Donghyuck was too much of a coward to do anything to stop it. The only thing he had the courage to do was give the tiniest of nods and internally brace himself.

 

There was a moment where neither of them moved or breathed, but then Jeno dipped his head in closer, and Donghyuck let his eyes fall shut. However, he never received the kiss he was expecting. Instead, there was a brush of Jeno’s lips over Donghyuck’s cheek in the most fleeting of pecks before Donghyuck felt Jeno retreat.

 

His eyes fluttered open to see Jeno stepping back, a small, rueful smile on his lips. “You’re too kind for your own good, Hyuck,” Jeno breathed, running a hand through his own raven locks.

 

“What?” Donghyuck squeaked out. 

 

“I like you a lot, Hyuck. More than I should.” And Donghyuck’s worst fears were confirmed. 

 

He grabbed one of Jeno’s hand with both of his own, squeezing his eyes shut so no tears would fall. “Jeno, I don’t like you like that.”

 

Jeno took a deep breath, nodding. “I know.”

 

“Then why—”

 

“I had to get it off of my chest, Hyuck. I’ve been holding these feelings in for six years, and it’s nice to finally tell someone.” Jeno’s voice was soft, but the words hit him hard.

 

“Six years…?” Donghyuck couldn’t stop the tears from gathering in his eyes at all the pain Jeno must have gone through as Donghyuck dated around in high school and college, constantly being flirty and affectionate with everyone he met. “I’m so,  _ so _ sorry.”

 

Jeno pulled Donghyuck forward into his chest, wrapping his arms around the younger in a comforting hug. “It’s not your fault.”

 

“Why didn’t you just kiss me?” Donghyuck blubbered into Jeno’s shoulder, still not quite understanding.

 

“Because that’s not right, Hyuck. I still want us to be friends.” Jeno explained, backing up so he could gently brush the tears off of Donghyuck’s cheeks with gentle strokes of his thumb. “I’m not going to lose decades of friendship over something as stupid as this.”

 

Donghyuck looked at him, appalled. “Your feelings are not stupid, Lee Jeno, and I never want to hear you say that again.” The words lost some of their harshness as he spoke through his tears, but the message was still there.

 

“I know,” And then Jeno has the  _ audacity _ to flash Donghyuck those eye smiles that he’d gotten so familiar with over the years. “But neither are yours, and I could never do that to you.”

 

“Jeno you are my best friend, and I will never forgive myself for making you suffer for that long.” Donghyuck meant to continue with a whole speech but Jeno just hushed him with another hug as his tears subsided into gentle hiccups and unsteady breaths.

 

“There’s nothing to forgive yourself for, Hyuck,” Jeno looked him right in the eyes. “And I never want you to change either. I love you just the way you are, okay?”

 

Donghyuck nodded and pulled Jeno back to him again, resting his head on Jeno’s shoulder as they comforted each other. Just then Jeno’s phone buzzed as car headlights flashed through the front windows, signaling that someone was pulling into the driveway. 

 

Jeno planted a kiss on the top of Donghyuck’s head before backing up and grabbing his phone out of his back pocket. He didn’t even unlock it, he just looked at the lockscreen and smiled, looking up at Donghyuck with such sudden happiness on his features it gave him whiplash.

 

“I think someone’s at the door for you.” Jeno nudged Donghyuck gently in the direction of the front hallway. Donghyuck caught sight of a familiar silhouette making their way up the walkway and he gasped, looking at Jeno for confirmation, but he just nodded with the widest grin.

“Our third musketeer has come back.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> literally everyone as guessed (for the most part, correctly) at the last pairing, but i'm still not gonna say it until i actually post the next chapter.... but honestly if you think you know who it is you're probably right  
> HI THANK YOU ALL FOR STICKING WITH THIS AND MY UNRELIABLE BUTT I LOVE ALL OF YOU  
> i'm hopingggggggggg to get the next chapter up tonight so i can post the last one on christmas as it was originally planned, but idk if that's going to happen  
> i can't wait for me to finish this so i can take like a break from writing for two days bc my hands are DYING

**Author's Note:**

> come yell at me on my socials about anything <3
> 
> [twitter](https://twitter.com/baridalive)   
>  [curiouscat](https://curiouscat.me/baridalive)   
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